earlychildhoodeducation Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Early Learning Childhood Education

09/03/201709/03/2017

3 amazing ways poetry impacts children’s development

It’s no surprise that at Bonkers Beat we LOVE music. Along with a beat and some fun instruments, music often includes lyrics or can be based around poems. For children’s songs these rhyming words focus on a message or a subject that they can relate to, escape within, express feelings through or simply enjoy.

On Tuesday 21 March, World Poetry Day takes place offering a special time to focus on poetry in early childhood education.

Children love rhymes, but there’s also three amazing ways that poetry impacts children’s development.

1. Poetry for memory and language

Poetry is closely linked with recognising and memorising patterns both audibly and visually – that is, through both listening to the sound of poems being read and through reading them on paper firsthand. This style of information processing can also be helpful when children are learning maths and new languages.

2. Poetry for emotional development

By producing sounds and beats, poems allow even very young babies and children to experience language and storytelling on a less cognitive and more emotional level. Some studies also show that poetry contributes to building resilience in children and expanding their capacity to experience and understand emotions.

3. Poetry for physical development

Clapping, turning around, hands up in the air – many poems and rhymes work alongside simple, fun physical movement, much like music. At Bonkers Beat many if not all of our poems and songs have movements to go along with them that not only improve children’s understanding of the content but get the blood flowing!

These are just a few of the benefits of poetry for children. One of the most simple and convincing reasons to make sure you expose children to poems at a young age is the first thing we mentioned – children love them!

Head over to Facebook and let’s come up with some of the best poems we’ve used in centres!

08/12/201609/12/2016

Making the Biggest Decision for Your Child’s Future

There’s so much to think about during the early years of a child’s life. For parents it can be quite a whirlwind, from the sleeplessness of the first months to finding your feet in parenthood and then all of a sudden children are being enrolled at childcare or kinder.

With the knowledge that the first five years of life are when the brain does its most intensive wiring and development, making educated and informed choices about your child’s early learning is vital.

Pre-cursor for School Success

While childcare and pre-school/kindergarten programs are play-based forms of learning, they can play a big role in your child’s success in school.

In fact, a recent study by the University of Missouri College Education highlights the importance of pre-school years for children’s educational development and preparation for success in life.

Continuity of Care: It’s Crucial

When choosing a childcare or pre-school program for your child, it’s always best to think long-term – that is, commit to continuity of care for your child right through to commencing primary school.

Continuity of care means that children remain at one early childhood educational service for the three years prior to starting school. Early Childhood Australia says that consistency between settings is a critical factor in thinking about effective learning over the long term. “While children are certainly resilient and adaptable, their experiences of transitions and change are likely to be more favourable when there is as much consistency and continuity between settings as possible.”

Sometimes parents leave their current service to enrol their children in the 4-year old funded kindergarten year at the local government kinder. This is the equivalent of switching primary schools in grade 5 or high schools in year 11. Of course this can be a necessity when a family is moving areas, but for the most part these transitions don’t allow children to flourish and continue an uninterrupted developmental journey.

Extra Transitions Unnecessary

There are two main reasons we see this final year switch take place. The first is financial. It is often more affordable for families to send their children to the local government kindergarten. However, government subsidies and benefits like CCB make this cost difference less noticeable. Furthermore, you’ll find more flexible hours, excursions and incursions available in some settings like Bonkers Beat, included in the fees. Not to mention school holiday care! Most importantly of course, the very best early childhood education is an investment in your child’s future.

The other reason we find that drives families to change centres in 4-year old kindergarten is that they are under the impression that this will ensure their children have friends who will attend the same school. While friendships that continue into school can be wonderful, many primary schools will in fact separate children who have arrived from the same kinder in order to encourage even more new friendships to flourish in this new environment.

It’s important to note as well that there are often many kindergartens that feed into local primary schools, not just the government kinder nearest to the school. For example, local primary schools in and around Aspendale in Victoria love our Bonkers Beat Music Kinder because the children who transition to school from Bonkers Beat are very confident, creative and have more developed social and emotional skills.

Make the Commitment

Research supports continuity as an essential ingredient for the very best early education experience for children. This is also evident in our experience too. When your child commences care, make the commitment for your child’s future and pursue continuous care where possible for the best outcomes.

Before enrolling your child into a kindergarten or childcare, take the time to do the research and find the right high quality service for your child. To allow your child a smooth transition to school in the future, you may even like to start investigating your options for primary and secondary education. Whether your decision is based on a high quality public, religion-oriented or private school it should resonate with your family values and provide the best foundation for your child’s future.

20/10/201620/10/2016

Celebrating Children’s Rights this Children’s Week

Whether you’re an early childhood educator, a teacher or a parent, a huge part of your life is dedicated to caring for children and celebrating their achievements.

From October 22 – 30, the whole of Australia is encouraged to celebrate children’s rights, talents and abilities during Children’s Week.

A Caring World Shares

Children’s Week has a permanent theme that remains each year: ‘A caring world shares’. What a beautiful sentiment to teach to the children in our care!

In 2016 Children’s Week bases their week of celebrating around an article from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2016 it is Article 17: ‘Children’s right to Reliable Information from the Media’.

Article 17 as written in the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) is:

“You have the right to get information that is important to your well being, from radio, newspaper, books, computers and other sources. Adults should make sure that the information you are getting is not harmful, and help you find and understand the information you need.”

Perhaps you could be inspired by this to talk to the children in your care about the various places they can find information – and that information can be different because there is not always one answer or solution.

We live in a world in which we are bombarded by messages and information. Whether it’s via the TV, radio, internet, tablets, smartphones – the media and information sources are everywhere 24/7.

Resources for Celebrating Children’s Week

To further assist you in your discussions with children, the book ‘Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood – Teaching Young Children in the Media Age’ is a valuable resource. Click here to read an excerpt of the book on the NAEYC website about how teachers can protect children and promote their development in a media-saturated world.

If you’re up for a song – and you know the team at Bonkers Beat is ALWAYS up for a song! – take a look at the Children’s Week song! It’s a bit long for younger children, but take a verse or two that you really love and try it in your centre. Click here to listen to the song or view/print the lyrics.

Children’s Week is all about children’s rights but also their talents – another way to celebrate might be to encourage children to discover their own special talent and share it with one another. Special talents may be a dance, singing, drawing or even just doing a funny voice! Have fun with it and enjoy celebrating children during Children’s Week – although no doubt you already do that each day.

People photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

24/08/201601/09/2016

A Special Day for Dads – Celebrating Father’s Day in Early Childhood

There’s no doubt that fathers play a special role in children’s lives. In fact, today’s dads are more involved with bringing up their children and children have stronger bonds with their fathers than in previous generations.

With more dads making the time to have quality engagement with their children, celebrating fathers in early childhood education, from childcare centres through to school, is a must.

While many children will be overjoyed to invite dad along to a Father’s Day celebration, there are many other children who don’t have their father present in their life. This can be for a variety of reasons, and with over 740,000 families in Australia headed up by solo mums, it’s something most early childhood educators will have to address.

Father’s Day is coming up on 4 September, so make sure you create an inclusive Father’s Day celebration that can be enjoyed by all children. This could be by inviting fathers as well as special male friends or role models. These can be family members like an uncle, grandfather or step-dad, or perhaps a sports coach or friend of the family.

When you’re organising craft and other fun activities to mark the occasion, try to leave it open for children to design for their chosen person rather than specifying ‘To Dad’ by default.

Father’s Day also gives educators a chance to have a conversation with children about family diversity – there are plenty of books on the subject that may be worth looking at to help you explore this topic.

Enjoy your centre’s Father’s Day celebrations and of course, we think every celebration is a good time for a song, so feel free to incorporate this poem, ‘My Daddy’.

If you’ve got some great ideas to share and help all of us celebrating Father’s Day in early childhood, please post them on our Facebook page!

30/06/201630/06/2016

WHY Wellness REALLY Works

“Wellness is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential. Wellness is multidimensional and holistic, encompassing lifestyle, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and the environment. Wellness is positive and affirming.” National Wellness Institute

We all want to be the best version of ourselves possible. And we want the children in our care to reach their full potential too. Working towards wellness is the key.

Wellness is made up of several connected parts, and can really only be approached holistically. By approaching early childhood education with wellness in mind, we can make an incredible positive impact for all involved.

The Australian Psychological Society’s 2015 survey on stress and wellbeing in Australia showed that the wellbeing of Australians is faring worse than the first survey in 2011 – we’re reporting lower levels of wellbeing and workplace wellbeing, as well as higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety symptoms. This is in line with BeyondBlue’s statistics that suggest there are 3 million Australians living with depression or anxiety.

It’s time that we in early childhood education put some serious effort into the wellness of both educators and children. The best way to change the future is with wellness and some inspired leadership action. This is the mentality behind The Complete Wellness Works Educational Leaders Conference.

This is a conference like no other, designed specifically for educational leaders, management, directors and owners. It’s time to lead your centre with an early childhood revolution. You can learn more and register today at www.bonkersbeat.com/wellnessworks/.

Early childhood education needs a holistic approach, and the multi-faceted nature of wellness is the ideal foundation to build the future on.

Wellness in early childhood really does work, and The Complete Wellness Works Educational Leaders Conference is going to show you how to make it work for you and your centre.

Alina Dan is an internationally renowned early childhood presenter and business developer – her presentation will empower you to reach your full potential in your role as a leader.

Galina Zenin is a multi-award winning educator and her Seven Stone Philosophy is a clear path to incorporating wellness in early childhood. Her presentation is not only informative but gives you practical tools and inspiring insights into incorporating wellness to make your centre the best it can be.

Why does wellness work?

Here’s the simple answer: the path to wellness in early childhood is also the path to reaching our full potential. Let’s get started on the journey to wellness and watch as your team and the children in your care flourish – not to mention your centre.

Spots are filling FAST! Secure yours now – register at www.bonkersbeat.com/wellnessworks/

03/03/201603/03/2016

Go Purple for Epilepsy Awareness

March is Epilepsy Awareness Month, so we are all encouraged to show our support by wearing the international epilepsy awareness colour: purple.

The idea is to break down the stigma around epilepsy and talk about it. Learn what it is, what it means and show understanding to those who live with seizures.

The official Purple Day is March 26. This date falls on the Saturday during the Easter break this year, but you can get behind Epilepsy Awareness Month by encouraging children to wear purple any time throughout March.

It’s a good time to talk about the different health issues people live with. Discuss how we might not be able to see those health issues at a glance, but how they can affect people’s lives. Promote sensitivity and understanding, and highlight the importance of supporting one another.

Here’s a little bit of info about epilepsy to help us understand the nature of it and its prevalence:

“Epilepsy is a common brain disorder which takes the form of recurring seizures. It can develop at any age, regardless of gender or ethnicity. An estimated 65 million worldwide currently live with epilepsy – in Australia alone approximately 250,000 people live with epilepsy and one in 25 people will have epilepsy at some point in their life.” (Epilepsy Australia)

So pick a day, to GO PURPLE this month! You’ll be helping to raise awareness for epilepsy and support those affected by it. It’s really simple to host a Purple Day fundraiser at your centre too, so click here to find out more.

Together we can help shape the way a generation understands health issues like epilepsy and create networks of knowledge and support.

24/02/201625/02/2016

Sustainability in 3 Steps to Help Clean Up Australia

We are all striving towards creating the ultimate learning environment for young children. But what about the bigger picture? Making sure we take care of the environment in a broader sense is crucial, as is teaching the next generation about the importance of keeping the planet healthy.

Sustainability isn’t a buzzword – it’s the key to a happy, healthy future for us all. So how do educators and children make a difference? Our environmental sustainability program is a big part of the Bonkers Beat philosophy and practice. We understand the importance of looking after our planet and work together to raise awareness of the environment and a sense of connection to the natural world. Clean Up Australia Day is coming up on 6 March (Schools Clean Up Day, 4 March) and this is a good starting point to open up a discussion with children about the environment.

Encourage Sustainability in Three Steps

We’ve identified a three step pathway to showing children how they can make a different to the planet and the future:

Respect

If we can first encourage children to respect the environment and nature, we have made a good start. One of the easiest ways of doing this is through growing, cooking and eating. Once children see firsthand that nature is providing yummy food for them with just a little bit of care, they tend to look at a garden from a new perspective.
Practical Tip: Children should be taught care for plants and nature through activities like planting, watering plants, pruning, harvesting/picking and cooking.

Responsibility

Working from a basis of respect for the environment, children and staff can demonstrate their respect for their environment by becoming socially responsible. Promote awareness of wastage when it comes to water, electricity, paper and recyclable materials.
Practical Tip: Time handwashing, use compost bins, grow vegetables, fruit and herbs, maximise the use of natural light, minimise the use of heating and cooling.

The three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

These three R’s are practical reminders that we can apply to almost anything in life. If children have some paper we want them to think: can it be reused or recycled? They deserve to know that off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit. We want them to opt for a reusable snack box rather than plastic wrappings, and to understand the impact of littering on animals and the world.
Practical Tip: Read more about how to action the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – here.

Explaining sustainability to children can be tricky. The simple explanation we always use: it is just ‘Enough for Everyone for Ever’.

At Bonkers Beat we believe it is our responsibility to be role models and teach children to:

-learn about the environment
-develop skills to investigate and solve issues in the environment
-acquire attitudes of care and concern for the environment
-adopt behaviours and practices which protect the environment
-understand the principles of ecologically sustainable development

Remember, the upcoming annual event Clean Up Australia Day is on 6 March (Schools Clean Up Day 4 March)! Centres, you can register your Clean Up Day by clicking here. Alternatively, you might like to register to join an existing site clean up.

Here’s a sneak peak at our environmental sustainability program at the Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale:

Inspire us by showing off images from your centre on our Facebook page, or Bonkers Beat members can share in the private My Bonkers Beat group.

P.S. As a loyal Bonkers Beat supporter, please enjoy this gift from Bonkers the Monkey – click here for your exclusive access to our song ‘Bonkers Rap’. A fun resource for talking about looking after the planet!

18/02/201618/02/2016

When 3 million Australians are living with depression or anxiety, wellbeing matters

You hear about wellbeing all the time and you know that it’s important, but if you’re wondering “what is wellbeing?”, you’re not alone!

Research indicates that wellbeing is “a state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy”. Collins English Dictionary defines wellbeing as “the condition of being contented, healthy, or successful; welfare“. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, wellbeing is “the satisfactory state that someone or something should be in, that involves such things as being happy, healthy, and safe”.

When we think of wellbeing we need to remember that it comprises all elements of wellness – that is good physical health and good mental health. These contribute to the bigger picture that is our overall state of wellbeing, which affects our day-to-day enjoyment and comfort.

The Bonkers Beat programs highlight music as a means to enhance learning but also to provide a pathway to improving the wellbeing of children and educators.

How Music Improves Wellbeing

PHYSICAL WELLBEING: Encourages physical activity; reduces muscle tension; stimulates feel-good hormones; boosts immunity
EMOTIONAL WELLBEING: Calming effect; reduces negative emotions; lyrics can function as positive affirmations; uplifts the spirit
SOCIAL WELLBEING: Facilitates teamwork; increases self-esteem; builds confidence; can embed social skills

Wellbeing Practices for Life

In addition to music and these amazing benefits noted above, the Bonkers Beat programs also focus on incorporating wellbeing practices every day. Wellbeing practices include: yoga, stretching, breathing exercises and meditation.

The positive results from these activities can often be noted immediately – and once again, they benefit educators as well children! The impact is both physical and emotional, from lowering cortisol (stress hormone) levels to increasing mobility and so much more.

Wellbeing Matters

These figures from beyondblue indicate why wellbeing matters for all of us, young and old:

3 million Australians are living with depression or anxiety
One in four young Australians currently has a mental health condition
One in 16 young Australians is currently experiencing depression
One in six young Australians is currently experiencing an anxiety condition
Suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians and accounts for the deaths of more young people than car accidents

Furthermore, 6-38% of family day care educators met criteria for depression according to the findings from the research project ‘Work and wellbeing in family day care’, by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Deakin University, RMIT and The Jack Brockhoff Child Health & Wellbeing Program.

Enhanced Wellbeing for Children and Educators

While our role and passion is to enhance the wellbeing of children in our care, at Bonkers Beat we feel it’s important to make note of the importance of educator’s wellbeing too.

If we are not feeling good within ourselves in an emotional, physical or social sense, then we need to be supported by our team to improve our wellbeing.

By bonding and enhancing that sense of teamwork in your centre, as well as incorporating music and wellbeing practices each day, educators will have the tools they need to do what they do best, and be the best they can beWhile our role and passion is to enhance the wellbeing of children in our care, at Bonkers Beat we feel it’s important to make note of the importance of educator’s wellbeing too.

If we are not feeling good within ourselves in an emotional, physical or social sense, then we need to be supported by our team to improve our wellbeing.

By bonding and enhancing that sense of teamwork in your centre, as well as incorporating music and wellbeing practices each day, educators will have the tools they need to do what they do best, and be the best they can be. And that’s why wellbeing is so important, not only to children but to early childhood education.

The upcoming Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits are committed to the wellbeing of educators and children. We aim to ensure each educator has the tools and support within their centre to do the best job possible with children in their care and enjoy each day with a sense of enhanced wellbeing. The exclusive Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits are run in Australian capital cities and are included for all educators from centres who are members of Bonkers Beat Music and/or Wellbeing programs. If you’d like to learn more, click here.

11/02/201612/02/2016

Collaboration Central to Success

As early childhood educators we are continually encouraging children to work together, to be team players, to participate. From sport and games through to discussions, active participation is our goal for them. Rightly so, as working together is a fantastic way to accomplish great things. It’s about time we all took our own advice!

Collaboration Is Central To Success

As human beings at all life stages we are presented with situations where collaboration is central to success. In early childhood education, teamwork can go a long way and is something that is central to the success of centres across the country.

The importance of your centre’s ability to work as a team is reflective of their capacity to bond with one another, support one another and inspire one another. These areas will only serve to increase motivation levels in your centre, reduce staff turnover and create the most positive environment possible for children’s learning and development.

TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More

The upcoming Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits are committed to embracing and encouraging collaboration and professional development as a team. We have invited every single one of the members of staff from centres who have embedded our innovative Bonkers Beat music and/or wellbeing programs to come along. Imagine the things that these teams of incredible individuals will be able to accomplish when they come together, learn together and are inspired together. Best of all, everyone’s attendance is included in the Bonkers Beat program membership! No need to carefully select staff members who will be best at relaying the content of the event – they can all attend!

Of course, teamwork and participation isn’t just about attending early childhood professional development events – it can be worked on from within your centre through:

-Staff meetings
-Social events/dinners
-Group projects
-Collaboration across Rooms
-Working bees
-Staff retreats

We spend our days facilitating children’s participation, so why not make sure we encourage each other and work as a team too!

P.S: Click here to learn more about the breakthrough Bonkers Beat programs or register for our new format program

04/02/201619/04/2016

Facebook With Families – Social Media in Early Childhood Settings

Whether it’s to save paper or try a more interactive approach, more and more childcare centres and kinders are using online communications to keep in touch with parents.

While many in the early childhood field hold strong opinions about the use of iPads and computers for young children, this post is more interested in the use of Facebook for centre educators and management to keep in touch with families.

Facebook With Families

Plenty of early childhood educational services have Facebook business pages to publicise their centre, almost like an extension of their website. Other centres also have private ‘closed groups’ on Facebook. In these groups, only parents and immediate family members are accepted into the group to view the information posted. This information can be anything from reminders of upcoming events, to photos of children and everything in between. Parents can post questions that can then be answered by other parents or the centre’s staff. Sometimes parents may even post photos from an external occasion like a child’s birthday party, for example, to share with other families and the staff.

These closed groups can become an extension of the partnership between centres and families, and also facilitate bonding and communication between parents, and between staff and parents.

Plan It Carefully

The key is for it to be well managed. A plan or strategy can be helpful for a few reasons: make sure that there is activity in the group on a regular basis, ensure comments and questions are monitored and moderated in a timely fashion that the rules are adhered to.

What sort of rules, you may wonder? We recommend requesting that parents don’t save the images from Facebook that have other people’s children in them, but that they can make a request to have the image sent to them via email. We also advise that a consent form be signed by parents to allow images of their children to go on the Facebook group. Although it is private and can only be viewed by approved members, some parents may not want their children’s image posted for various reasons.

Pros and Cons

We are in favour of the use of Facebook Groups for centre, but here a few pros and cons we have identified in relation to private Facebook Group for you to consider:

PROS
-Increase communication between the centre and families
-Facilitate bonding between families
-Attract parent interest and increase participation
-Simple way to stay in regular contact with all families

CONS
-Potential privacy and confidentiality issues
-Takes some extra time for the educator/s and/or management to post and monitor

Does your centre use online methods to contact parents and families? What other pros and cons do you see when it comes to the use of private Facebook closed groups for centres? Have you had a particularly positive or negative experience with Facebook Groups as a parent, educator or management?

Join the discussion with us on Facebook.